The Google-backed company halted all television, radio and online advertising for its $99 Saliva Collection Kit and Personal Genome Service (PGS) last week, a spokesperson said on Monday.

The FDA ordered 23andMe to “immediately discontinue” marketing of its product last month because the company had failed to send the agency information that supports the claims it makes in marketing materials. The FDA said some of the intended uses of the PGS were “particularly concerning” because false positives or negatives may lead consumers to make important decisions about their health based on inaccurate information.

“We have worked extensively with our lab partner to make sure that the results we return are accurate,” the company’s co-founder Anne Wojcicki said in a blog post last week. “We stand behind the data that we return to customers – but we recognize that the FDA needs to be convinced of the quality of our data as well.”

She said 23andMe submitted its first application for FDA clearance in July 2012 and submitted another application at the end of August, but admitted “we are behind schedule with our responses.”

The FDA said it had been working with 23andMe since July 2009 to ensure the company complied with the agency’s regulations, though 23andMe said the conversations began in 2008. Wojcicki said these discussions are “new territory” for both groups.

“This makes the regulatory process with the FDA important because the work we are doing with the agency will help lay the groundwork for what other companies in this new industry do in the future,” Wojcicki said. “It will also provide important reassurance to the public that the process and science behind the service meet the rigorous standards required by those entrusted with the public’s safety.”

The company's failure to comply with the FDA's regulations is also being used in a class action lawsuit against 23andMe filed on 27 November. The suit alleges that the company “falsely and misleadingly” advertises the PGS services.